China’s steel industry body wants Beijing to get tougher with Trump over possible US import curbs
China Iron and Steel Association officer says China should be bold in protecting its own businesses and avoid “being led by the US by the nose”
China’s steel industry association, which represents 80 per cent of the country’s steel production, has called on Beijing to get tougher with the administration of US President Donald Trump and to threaten retaliation if Washington moves to curb Chinese steel imports.
Li Xinchuang, vice-president of the China Iron and Steel Association, told the South China Morning Post in a telephone interview that China should be bold in protecting the interests of its own businesses and avoid “being led by the US by the nose”.
If Washington moves to levy additional tariffs on Chinese steel products or take restrictive measures against imports from China, China can “hit back on restricting [US] imports of automobiles and agricultural products”, Li said.
His comments came a day after the first China-US economic dialogue to be held since Donald Trump took power failed to reach an agreement on trade. One reason for the fruitless talks in Washington was that China refused to agree to US demands that it eliminate excess steel capacity, Reuters reported.
Li spoke from his position as a China steel industry representative.